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arXiv · 2506.20678

Sparse Infrared Spectroscopy for Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds

Mira Welner·Andre Hazbun·Thomas Beechem
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Abstract

To reduce the complexity of infrared spectroscopy hardware while maintaining performance, a data informed, task-specific, spectral collection approach termed Sparse Infrared Spectroscopy (SIRS) is developed. Using a numerically based virtual experiment based on a quantitatively accurate infrared database, non-negative matrix factorization is used to identify the spectral pass bands of a minimal number of filters necessary to identify volatile organic compounds (VOC) within either an inert background or mixture of gases. The data-driven approach is found capable of identifying contaminants at the 1-10 part per million level (PPM) with $\mathrm{\sim~20-50}$ spectral samples as opposed to the more than 1,000 typical of a traditional infrared spectrum. Reasonably robust to both noise and the characteristics of the base compound in a mixture, the task-specific spectral sampling points to simplified hardware design that maintains performance.

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Mira Welner, Andre Hazbun, Thomas Beechem. 2025-06-22. Sparse Infrared Spectroscopy for Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.20678

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